The first time I was exposed to cancer was in 2001.  I was 10-years old and my dad, who prides himself on his healthy lifestyle & immune system, couldn’t shake a cough.  The cough turned out to be Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and thankfully he and his team of doctors at Johns Hopkins attacked the hell out of it and he’s been cancer free for over 10yrs.  It was likely around the same time I was first exposed to fighting, as my older sister, Emmy, was getting close to her teenage years and decided I was annoying (spoiler: she is a professional Crossfitter now, so you can imagine how those fights went for me).

 

The second time I was exposed to cancer coincided with my second exposure to fighting – someone not related to me (by blood, at least) was diagnosed and someone, other than my sister, punched me in the face.  For those reading this who played soccer with me at Northwest Cabarrus High School circa 2008, you know how that punch played out … and unfortunately you also probably know how Gail Lazenby’s battle with Pancreatic Cancer ended too.  Having a front row seat to Gail’s 11-month battle with Pancreatic Cancer was the most humbling experience of my life.  She fought day in and day out, was in and out of hospitals and treatments, traveled near and far for surgeries and trials… she prayed, she held tight to her loved ones, and I have no idea how she had the strength, but she cracked jokes and made us laugh up until she couldn’t speak anymore.

 

Unfortunately, my stories are not unique, and few are lucky to count life’s cancer encounters on one hand.  I never met my grandfather, Billy Goodman (inducted into Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2004), who died way too young from multiple myeloma, my mom gets checked every 3mo post a bout with melanoma, and I come home almost every day to David, my doorman for years who behind a smile, hug and a kiss on the cheek, is fighting his battle.

 

When I think about the tools needed over the next 4 months of training, fundraising, and on fight night- I don’t need to look much further than the grit, endurance, commitment, determination, courage, persistence, support, and love that surrounds the cancer battles I’ve seen and continue to see.  Thank you so much to those who have already poured out their support for me and this cause and let’s keep it going up until and after November 14, 2019, so we can KO the real opponent, cancer.

#Haymakers4Hope  #KOCancer